


bandages

by paintmelilacs



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship, and vents abt it in notes, author has trouble with authority, jason is not having that, leo cooks lol, leo patches jason up, oblivious Jason, people from camp bully leo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:20:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29235960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paintmelilacs/pseuds/paintmelilacs
Summary: Leo gets picked on by some people at camp and Jason isn’t having it.
Relationships: Jason Grace/Leo Valdez
Comments: 4
Kudos: 39





	bandages

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this while skipping school 😐👋 all i kno is truancy, watch anime, eat hot chip and lie

“You can’t keep doing this.” Leo stated. “It’s not sustainable.”

The thing is, Jason _can_ keep doing this. For however long it takes to Leo safe. But, Jason said nothing, too busy staring at Leo’s nimble hands while the boy wrapped pristine white gauze around his own. Red slowly stained the corners of the bandages. Jason can’t even feel it. 

He feels Leo’s hand against his own instead. His skin was so warm. Like that moment between sleeping and waking up, when all you have to worry about is the warm blanket surrounding you and that fuzzy feeling floating in your head. Jason wishes he could keep Leo next to him at all times. His own personal little space heater.

Jason snaps out of it, remembering that Leo had asked him a question. 

“They were messing with you.” Jason replied stoicly. He hopes Leo thinks that in that awkward span of time it took him to answer that Jason had been thinking critically about his answer, instead of just spacing out.

Leo’s eyes were trained on Jason’s wounds, so he didn’t notice when Jason stared. Leo’s eyebrows scrunched when he talked, like two brown caterpillars going in for a kiss. Jason thinks he may have spaced out too.

“You can’t fight everyone that disagrees with me, Jason.” Leo huffs. “It’s stupid, and quite frankly, I don’t like it. I can handle them on my own.”

Jason wants to argue. He wants to say that they did more than just disagree with Leo, they threatened to _hurt_ him. They called him ugly names. Jason couldn’t just stand by and let Leo allow it to happen. But, mentioning all that might just salt the wound. Leo doesn’t like being seen as weak.

Weak was far from what people had seen Leo as when he defeated Gaea. But he wasn't seen as powerful either. Half the camp liked Leo, and the other half thought he was a cheater. Creepy. A freak. Up to no good. Evil spawn. It doesn't help that while he's sparring Leo can't control his defensive instincts. He's burned more people in the arena than Jason could count on his hands and feet, and Chiron had to start enforcing his "no using powers while training" rule. 

Some campers just didn’t trust Leo. Some of them... wanted to hurt Leo. Jason wasn't going to let that happen.

Because he knew Leo would let them.

“They had a skilled fighter from the Aries cabin among them, and you couldn’t use your powers. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Leo pauses as he applies bandages. “Yeah but I don’t need you to protect me.” Leo blushes. Jason suspects its from the anger. “You act like my bodyguard. They’re just going to make fun of me for it later. All you do is worsen things, don’t you get it?”

Arguing with Leo is exhausting and moot. And Jason knows that if you argue your point a little _too_ much, he’ll start to soak it in like a sponge and internalize it until it takes over his every thought, and that’s no good. Jason just wants Leo to like himself. 

“Well, at least you’re getting better at bandaging.” Jason suggests. 

Leo snorts. “Yeah, maybe i’ll go become a secretary for the Clinic. That’ll be a _great_ use of my skills.”

Jason shrugs. He imagines Leo working in the clinic, dressed up in a little white coat, stitching lost appendages back onto crying children. Cute. It's a nice mental image.

Leo finishes bandaging him up and he stalks over to the busted mini fridge standing in the corner, opening it and inspecting it’s contents. You'd think for being a cabin full of mechanics and engineers they would take better care of their stuff, but that mini fridge had more rust than paint and was blowing air like it was on its last dying breath. _"We find that kind of work boring"_ Leo had told him, " _It's like the engineer’s equivalent to a doctor's appendectomy."_ Whatever that means....

"Alright, well you're all wrapped up. You can stay for food though, if you want. I'm, like, a Michelin-star chef." Leo says, as he piles shredded cheese onto a stale-looking tortilla and throws it into the microwave. Leo stands directly in front of the microwave while it cooks. Huh. _That explains some things_ , Jason thinks.

"Sure. I'll take a quesadilla." Jason said, except he pronounced quesadilla like "KWAY-suh-DILL-uh".

Leo threw a torilla at his head like it was a frisbee. Jason barely caught it.

"It's pronounced _quesadilla_ , dumbass!"

Jason shrugs and takes a bite out of the tortilla. Man, it really was stale.

Leo shakes his head at Jason. "I'm never taking you to a spanish returaunt. They'll think i'm a traitor to my own kind." 

The microwave beeps and Leo rips the quesadilla out with his bare hands. He rips it in half and hands a piece to Jason, who eats it and is surprised that it doesn't taste completely like shit. Leo scarfs his portion of the quesadilla in two bites. The boy yawns and flexes his fingers, stretching. Along his torso, there's a trail of green-black bruises.

"What are you staring at?” The brown-haired boy scoffed. “ _Ohhhh_. Do you want to give the chef a kiss—“

“What are those?” Jason points to the bruises. 

Leo looks like a child caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to. His eyes blew wide and he shoves his shirt baack down over his chest, cursing under his breath and ushering Jason quickly out the door.

“They’re nothing really, u-uhm. Restaurants closed, the chef _really_ needs you to go."

"But—“

_"Bye Jason!"_

Leo all but shoves a dumbfounded Jason out the door and slams it shut. 

Jason just stares at the door for a second. 

...He's okay with this. 

After all, he’s got some bullies to catch. 


End file.
